Unit History: RAF Carnaby

RAF Carnaby was an emergency landing strip that enabled crippled bombers a safe place to land near the English coast during World War II. It was situated two miles southwest of Bridlington.

RAF Carnaby opened in March 1944. Unlike most RAF airfields there was a single runway, five times the width of a standard runway and 9,000 feet long, lying approximately east-west to enable bombers crossing the coast an easier landing.

Over 1400 bombers made an emergency landing at the airfield up until the end of the war. Carnaby was only one of fifteen airfields operating the fog dispersal system known as Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO). The system consisted of two rows of burning petrol one on each side of the runway, the heat from this fire raised the air temperature above the runways, cutting a hole in the fog and provided crews with a brightly lit strip indicating the position of the runway.

Two other similar functioning airfields were either constructed or further developed along the east coast of england, at Manston and Woodbridge, all three providing an emergency option for wartime bomber crews.

RAF Carnaby was for many years used for the storage of new Nissan cars, today it has been developed beyond recognition into an industrial park although with aerial photography you can still make out the outline of the former airfield.

247 Squadron, Fighter Command, 12 Group, were located at this Station.